Impact of Tech on the Workplace: Key Findings From 2025
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, technology’s influence on how we work is undeniable. From the rise and fall of remote work to the explosive growth of generative AI systems, the business world is undergoing a constant evolution. Staying informed about these trends is key to ensuring your business can adapt and thrive. Understanding how employees are using AI, the ongoing value of remote work, and the potential of the 4-day work week can determine whether you have a happy, productive staff or face high employee turnover.
That’s why Tech.co is releasing its annual Impact of Tech report, providing businesses with the resources they need to stay informed about key trends and topics. Through extensive research and surveys, we’ve gathered insights from workers, managers, and decision-makers, allowing you to operate your business more effectively.
Impact of Tech on the Workplace Report 2025: Key Findings
This year’s Impact of Tech on the Workplace Report from Tech.co reveals valuable data on subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), remote work, burnout, cybersecurity, Right to Disconnect laws, and the 4-day work week. Here are some of the key findings; the full report offers even more detail:
- 88% of senior leaders report technology has improved productivity in the past 12 months.
- Only 15% of businesses report not using AI at all, compared to 34% last year.
- Just 27% of businesses have policies strictly limiting the data shared with AI models.
- 78% of businesses that reduced their workforce due to automation plan to rehire to some degree.
- 44% of businesses have kept their remote work policies unchanged over the past year.
- 38% of decision-makers would consider implementing a 4-day work week.
- 77% of senior leaders support a France-style Right to Disconnect law.
Technology and Business: A Positive Relationship
Our research confirms technology’s positive impact on business success. We asked business owners and senior leaders about technology’s influence on their work from a productivity standpoint, and the results were overwhelmingly positive. For example, 88% of senior leaders noted that technology improved productivity at these businesses over the past year. Technology is vital for streamlining business processes, and falling behind can be detrimental.
Respondents indicated that operations (27%) saw the most growth because of new technology, with sales (15%) and product development (14%) also showing significant improvements.
AI’s Growing Impact
Our research indicates that AI is here to stay in the business world. Since user-friendly tools like ChatGPT gained popularity, AI has rapidly increased in use within companies, and this trend shows no signs of slowing.
Business adoption, in particular, has seen a substantial increase over the last year. Only 15% of businesses report no AI use at all, down from 34% in last year’s report. This means that 85% of businesses are utilizing AI tools to at least some extent to improve productivity. It’s also impacting hiring: 87% of businesses believe that hiring employees with AI expertise has become at least slightly important, compared to 66% in 2023.
AI Policies Lag Behind
Security and privacy should be a clear priority for business owners regarding AI technology. However, our research found a lack of policy in place to protect sensitive data, despite the rapid advancement of generative AI in business. In fact, just 27% of businesses have implemented policies that strictly limit the type of data shared with AI models. This means that businesses dealing with customer information like Social Security numbers and medical data could be putting this data at risk.
Even worse, the policies in place at those businesses may not align with industry best practices. About 32% are simply reviewing and approving AI tools before use, while 21% are just banning some job roles from using AI, and 11% are outright banning AI usage.
The Value of Human Employees
The rise of AI has understandably caused some anxiety among employees about their future in the workforce. While AI is poised to replace a significant percentage of jobs over the next few years, our research revealed that the majority of businesses are still interested in hiring humans to do the job.
Despite mass tech layoffs, we found that 78% of businesses that reduced their workforce due to automation plan to rehire to some degree, leaving only 22% confident that their new lean workforce will be sufficient. The number of companies making roles redundant because of AI is, however, rising. In 2024, 14% of business owners stated that AI had extensively removed the need for certain job roles, up from just 8% in last year’s report.
Remote Work: A Matter of Employee Satisfaction
Return-to-office mandates have gained traction in recent years, with companies such as Dell and Amazon announcing stricter rules. Despite this, our research indicates that remote work is still an important factor, with many businesses maintaining flexible policies and expanding the number of work-from-home days.
In our research, 44% of US businesses had not altered their remote work policies in the last year. Even more encouragingly, 10% of US businesses have actually increased the number of remote work days that employees are permitted, creating a better work-life balance. Key benefits of remote work include a more flexible schedule (35%), increased productivity (20%), and the ability for workers to choose their work location (13%).
Continuing Momentum for the 4-Day Work Week
Just a few years ago, the idea of a 4-day work week was seen as a distant dream for many workers. However, as countries and companies have embraced this new approach, results have been positive.
As a result, more and more businesses are considering whether a 5-day work week is still optimal. Our research found that 38% of US businesses would consider implementing a 4-day work week.
This represents a significant shift in opinion over the last year; in last year’s report, only 23% of US businesses were considering a 4-day work week, with 25% stating they had no intention of exploring such a possibility.
Senior Leaders’ Views on the “Right to Disconnect”
Some countries, such as France, Belgium, and Portugal, legally protect the Right to Disconnect, making it illegal to penalize employees for ignoring work-related communication outside of regular working hours. While no such law exists in the US, could it be on the horizon? It’s possible, given that 77% of senior leaders at US businesses support some Right to Disconnect law.
This would be a welcome change for many workers. Only 17% of employees said they feel no obligation to respond to work-related messages while on vacation. Interestingly, while many managers support this idea, their actions tell a slightly different story. 87% of senior leaders stated it is appropriate to contact colleagues while they are on vacation, citing reasons ranging from emergencies that require immediate action to non-critical operations that are somewhat time-sensitive.
The Impact of Tech 2025 Report: Methodology
To assess the current state of tech in the workplace, we surveyed 1,036 senior executives and workplace managers from businesses with 10+ employees, representing a wide range of industries. Approximately 61% of businesses had 100 or more employees, and 7% had between 10 to 24. The study was evenly split by gender, with 49% of respondents female and 51% male. To ensure impartiality, data was gathered via a third-party panel in September 2024.
